Super Mario Bros. flips over the competition for second weekend box office victory

Mario's kart has steamrolled the competition at the box office for the second weekend in a row.

The Super Mario Bros. Movie collected its gold coin prizes in the form of $87 million, marking this the best second weekend for an animated film of all time. The impressive haul brings the film's domestic intake to $347.8 million. The production's international total has now reached $678 million. The film is now poised to be the first movie of 2023 to cross the billion dollar mark. Does this mean the gritty HBO drama version of the game starring Pedro Pascal can become a reality?

This could put Chris Pratt, who has been part of both the Jurassic Park and Avengers franchises next to Zoe Saldana, as the star with the most billion-dollar grossing films to their name.

EW's Christian Holub gave the film a B+ noting, "It's all quite fun, with a good sense of humor and a consistent computer-animated aesthetic — plus, at 90 minutes including credits, it's short, sweet, and over before anything can get annoying. But it's hard to escape the feeling, especially during the aforementioned Rainbow Road sequence, that you would probably be having more fun just playing a game together instead."

The film, Pratt voicing the beloved titular character held strong amid the new releases hitting theaters this week. Renfield, starring Nicholas Cage as a contemporary Dracula, is off to a weak start, grossing only $7 million – debuting in fourth place. The wacky horror comedy also stars Nicholas Hoult as Dracula's henchman and cost a whopping $65 million to produce.

Coming in just above the Universal release was the demonic thriller The Pope's Exorcist, with $9.1 million. The film, which received lukewarm reviews, cost a meager $18 million. Headlined by Russell Crowe, the film centers on the Vatican's chief exorcist, who is investigating a young boy's possession and uncovers a greater mystery to uncover.

John Wick: Chapter 4 is holding strong with $7.925 million after a month in theaters. Now earning $349 million globally, it has surpassed John Wick: Chapter 3 – Parabellum to become the highest earner of the franchise.

Rounding out the top five is the Ben Affleck-directed Air, which took in $7.7 million in limited release.

Ari Aster's divisive horror film Beau Is Afraid had one of the strongest indie openings to date, taking in $80,090 average from just four theaters in New York and Los Angeles. The unsettling Joaquin Phoenix venture has earned the best per-theater average of 2023.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

Related content:

• The Super Mario Bros. Movie review: This faithful adaptation often feels like a cutscene
• Ben Affleck and his all-star Air cast give a play-by-play of making their Michael Jordan movie
• Owen Wilson on taking Bob Ross art classes for Paint and trusting in that glorious wig